This is 12 Foot Ninja.
They are Australia’s answer to Faith No More.
That’s a bold claim, but accurate. And since they had the guy who plays sax on Mr. Bungle records do some guest work, I am sure 12 Foot Ninja knows exactly how much of a Mike Patton effect there is on this band.
But if you are going to be influenced, be influenced by genius. Or drugs. Or genius drugs.
Formed in 2008, their first album, “Silent Machine” didn’t drop until 2012. Smart move, as it gave this unit the time to hone its craft into a delicious amalgam of genres, ranging anywhere from smooth indie jazz, Latin flairs, 70’s disco rips, and straight up Meshuggah surgical math metal. Often within the same song.
If you don’t like a particular ‘vibe’ in a 12 Foot Ninja song, stick around, it will most likely drastically shift into something else in 30 seconds or so.
While this might give the impression of a music school dropout with ADD, 12 Foot Ninja seamlessly stitch together genres to construct epic, meaningful music. despite the band doing its best to not take itself seriously. Many of their videos have a heavy comedic thread running through them, which often distracts from the flow, but shows the ‘fun’ this band has with their own music.
And that is what this band should be highlighted for… creating true music. Intricate, complex, moody, heavy, melodic, music of the highest caliber.
A good introduction track is, “Coming For You”. If you aren’t feeling the intro… stick around until about the :39 second mark and you’ll understand the extreme ‘genre shift’ this band can effortlessly pull off.
For a good display of the raw talent, check out their acoustic version of the song, “Kingdom”. This will impress most girls, parents, and even grandparents.
Just as a contrast (and to show the creative range of the band as it re-interprets one of their own songs)… here is what that song normally sounds like.
Some other choice 12 Foot Ninja track recommendations:
“Mother Sky” – This was the first single off their, “Silent Machine” release (that has a comic for each song, bound in a 72 page collection for the whole album).
“Ain’t That A Bitch” – GREAT example of the band having a sense of humor about their approach to videos…
“Shuriken” – even when the band slows it down, they keep it catchy as hell. Check the vocal patterns that push the interest right out the gate…
The band is currently hiding away and recording their 2nd full length album. They played the states a few times, but judging from the total views on their YouTube videos, this band is still very under the radar. With this level of talent, I doubt it will stay that way for long…
